The Seattle Seahawks, led by head coach Pete Carroll and John Schneider, have been incredibly successful in the NFL Draft the last few years and this year looked to be no different. Armed with 11 total draft picks, the Seahawks appear to have come away with an incredibly talented crop of young, talented players yet again.

With their first pick in the draft (62nd overall), the Seahawks selected running back Christine Michael from Texas A&M. Michael brings a physical running style that perfectly complements the tough persona of the Seattle’s current running backs Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin. Michael is a great pass-blocker and his ability to return punts and kickoffs makes him valuable from a depth standpoint.

In the third round, the Seahawks picked up defensive tackle Jordan Hill from Penn State with the 87th overall pick. At 6’1” and just over 300 pounds, Hill is a bit undersized to play DT in the NFL, so it’s unsure exactly where he will fit in. If he can bulk up and add a bit more strength, he could serve as a pretty good replacement for Alan Branch and Jason Jones, who were lost in free agency this offseason.

The Seahawks used their pick in the fourth-round to address one of their few needs when they selected wide receiver Chris Harper out of Kansas State. The Seahawks didn’t actually need a wide receiver, but they lack a big, physical wideout in a group made up of mostly smaller, quicker ones. At 6’1” and 234 pounds, Harper looks more like a running back than a receiver, and could use his size and strength to become a great option for Russell Wilson.

Round five, where the Seahawks have found Pro Bowlers in two of the last three drafts (Kam Chancellor in the 2010 draft, Richard Sherman in the 2011 draft), looked to be their best round of this year’s draft. They used the 137th overall pick to get a defensive tackle who many, including myself, thought they would take in the second-round in Jesse Williams from Alabama. Williams is big and strong enough to come in and start at one of the vacant DT spots and is fantastic against the run.

With their next fifth-round pick, Seattle took LSU cornerback Tharold Simon. At 6’2” and 202 pounds, Simon is an absolutely perfect fit for Pete Carroll’s defense, which already has the largest cornerback duo in the NFL with 6’3” Richard Sherman and 6’4” Brandon Browner. With Browner getting older and not playing particularly well last season, Simon could be a perfect option to replace him in the near future.

To round out a spectacular fifth-round, the Seahawks used the 158th overall pick on Rice tight end Luke Wilson. Wilson is a very intriguing prospect and could potentially be a great fit for the Seahawks. He’s 6’6”, 251 pounds and ran a low 40-time of 4.47 at the Rice pro day. That kind of blazing speed on a tight end is very rare, and could come in handy for the Seahawks in games where current starting tight end Zach Miller is forced to do a lot of blocking.

In the sixth-round, the Seahawks added even more depth to their backfield when they snagged LSU running back Spencer Ware. This is the one pick that left me scratching my head a little bit. But if the Seahawks convert Ware to fullback as expected, it could prove to be a pretty nice addition. Seattle rounded out this solid draft by adding three players in the seventh-round in Vanderbilt guard Ryan Seymour, Harding defensive end Ty Powell and New Hampshire guard Jared Smith.

Overall, I’d give this draft a B+ or an A- given the potential starting talent they acquired in the later rounds. Additionally, they had an incredible fifth-round, scoring three players who will all most likely make the team and contribute frequently. They were able to add depth at running back, on the offensive line and got a big physical receiver, which is huge for them. It’s pretty hard to give the Seahawks a bad grade in a draft since they have been so effective in finding hidden gems in the draft in recent years.